Government of Canada announces judicial appointment in the province of New Brunswick

News release

June 15, 2018 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada  

The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment under the new judicial application process announced on October 20, 2016. The new process emphasizes transparency, merit, and diversity, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Ivan Robichaud, Q.C., a partner with Robichaud Guignard Gauvin in Shippagan, is appointed a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick, Trial Division, in Bathurst. He replaces Mr. Justice J.A.R. Léger (Bathurst), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective February 6, 2017.

Biography

Justice Ivan Robichaud received a Bachelor of Fisheries Management from the Shippagan campus of Université de Moncton, followed by a Bachelor of Laws from the Moncton campus of the same university in 1986. He was called to the Law Society of New Brunswick the following year and returned to Shippagan, his hometown, where he practised throughout his legal career. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2005.

Justice Robichaud has practised in various areas of law. He has appeared before the Provincial Court of New Brunswick, the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick and the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick, in addition to acting as an adjudicator for the New Brunswick Small Claims Court, as a public intervener before the former New Brunswick Utilities Board and as the New Brunswick Expropriations Advisory Officer. For a number of years, he has chaired hearings of the Law Society of New Brunswick’s discipline committee.

Actively involved in the legal community, Justice Robichaud has been a member and then chair of the articling committee of the Law Society of New Brunswick, a member of the executive committee of the New Brunswick Law Foundation, and a member of the staffing committee of the law faculty at Université de Moncton.

Justice Robichaud believes that it is important to volunteer in his community. Accordingly, he has chaired the Shippagan Chamber of Commerce, the Shippagan Lions Club and Société Historique Nicolas-Denys, as well as serving on the board of governors of Université de Moncton (first as a student representative and then more recently as a governor) and the board of directors of the Lamèque Hospital and Succès Jeunesse Péninsule acadienne.

Excerpts from Justice Robichaud’s judicial application will be available shortly.

Quick facts

  • In 2017, the Minister of Justice made 100 appointments and elevations – the most a Minister of Justice has made in one year in at least two decades. Of these appointees, half are women, four are Indigenous, and 16 have self-identified as a member of a visible minority population, LGBTQ2, or a person with a disability.

  • The Government of Canada is committed to promoting access to justice for all Canadians. To improve outcomes for Canadian families, Budget 2018 proposes $77.2 million over four years to support the expansion of unified family courts, beginning in 2019-2020. This investment in the family justice system will create 39 new judicial positions in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

  • In addition, Budget 2018 proposes funding for a further seven judicial positions in Saskatchewan and Ontario, at a cost of $17.1 million over five years.

  • The funding outlined in Budget 2018 comes on top of resources allocated under Budget 2017, which created 28 new judicial positions across the country.

  • Additionally, the Government will ensure that a robust process remains in place to allow Canadians to voice their concerns and submit complaints about judicial conduct to the Canadian Judicial Council and the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs. This investment of $6 million over two years, beginning in 2018-2019, will support the judicial discipline process through which allegations of judicial misconduct are investigated.

  • Federal judicial appointments are made by the Governor General, acting on the advice of the federal Cabinet and recommendations from the Minister of Justice.

  • The Judicial Advisory Committees across Canada play a key role in evaluating judicial applications. There are 17 Judicial Advisory Committees, with each province and territory represented.

  • Significant reforms to the role and structure of the Judicial Advisory Committees, aimed at enhancing the independence and transparency of the process, were announced on October 20, 2016. Sixteen Judicial Advisory Committees have been reconstituted to date.

Contacts

For more information, media may contact:

David Taylor
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
613-992-4621

Media Relations
Department of Justice Canada
613-957-4207
media@justice.gc.ca

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